Daily Briefing — Nov. 23, 2021: What South Carolina vs. UConn, USF vs. Oregon tell us

(All times in Eastern)

Watch List, Tuesday, Nov. 23

Must-watch

None

Good games

None

Also watchable

Jackson State @ Ole Miss, 3 p.m., SEC Network+

Sickos games

Virginia @ CSU Fullerton, 9 p.m., ESPN+

Pac-12 or Big 10 on national television (or national streaming)

None

Monday, Nov. 22 recap

#1 South Carolina, #2 UConn: The Gamecocks beat the Huskies 73-57. UConn led by 13 points two minutes into the second quarter, but a 12-4 Gamecock run at the end of the quarter closed the gap. South Carolina won the third quarter, and promptly held UConn to its worst fourth quarter in school history — its lone score was an Evina Westbrook three. The Huskies shot marginally better overall, but committed five more turnovers and were outrebounded by almost 20, as the Gamecocks secured 19 offensive rebounds. UConn assisted on 18 of its 22 baskets.

Center Aliyah Boston’s double-double led South Carolina, on a game-high 22 points (10-19 FG, 1-4 3pt.) and 15 rebounds (seven offensive); wing Zia Cooke scored 17 points on 8-17 shooting (1-4 3pt.) with two steals; point guard Destanni Henderson had 15 points on 5-15 from the field (1-5 3pt.), four rebounds, six assists, six steals, and five turnovers. Point guard Paige Bueckers had a team-high 19 points for the Huskies on 8-19 FG (1-3 3pt.), plus five rebounds, seven assists, and four turnovers; wing Evina Westbrook notched 14 points on 4-6 from the field (2-2 3pt.), three assists, and three turnovers; center Olivia Nelson-Ododa had six points on 3-4 FG, five rebounds, four assists, two steals, five blocks, three turnovers, and four fouls; big Dorka Juhász had two points on 1-4 shooting off the bench, three offensive rebounds, five turnovers, and three fouls.

South Carolina and UConn meet again on Feb. 7 in Columbia, S.C.

#9 Oregon, #23 USF: The Bulls beat the Ducks 71-62. USF first led in the mid-second quarter, and had a 10-point lead within 10 minutes. Oregon trimmed the lead to four twice thereafter, and went from down 17 in the mid-fourth to down six, but it was ultimately too steep a deficit and too little time. The Ducks committed a combined 49 turnovers and fouls, as the Bulls notched 16 steals. Both teams shot over 40% from three.

USF point guard Elisa Pinzan had a double-double with a game-high 26 points on 7-10 shooting (4-4 3pt., 8-8 FT) and ten assists, plus four rebounds, four steals, and no fouls against three turnovers; off-ball guard Sydni Harvey scored 22 points on 5-of-13 form the field and 4-of-7 from three (8-10 FT) with two steals and no turnovers; center Dulcy Fankam Mendjiadeu had 17 bench points on 8-15 FG, seven rebounds, two steals, three blocks, and no turnovers against four fouls. Oregon point guard Ahlise Hurt notched 15 points on 6-13 from the field (3-7 3pt.), three assists, two steals, two blocks, and three turnovers; wing Sydney Parrish scored 15 on 7-10 shooting (1-3 3pt.) with three turnovers and four fouls; center Sedona Prince notched 13 points on 3-6 FG (7-9), six rebounds, and three assists against three turnovers; wing Chanaya Pinto fouled out off the bench (and also had seven rebounds); with big Nyara Sabally missing her second-straight game, the Ducks were effectively without their three best players.

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#13 Michigan: 69-58 win over Oakland. The Wolverines led by 13 after the first quarter and as many as 17 overall, but the Golden Grizzlies drew within one midway through the fourth. Michigan then went on a 14-5 run before the intentional fouls started, eight of those 14 by big Naz Hillmon individually. Hillmon led the Wolverines with a game-high 25 off the bench on 11-13 shooting (3-6 FT), 11 rebounds (six offensive), and three turnovers and three fouls in 24 minutes, making her return after missing Saturday’s win with a non-COVID illness; after scoring double-digits once in her first three years, center Emily Kiser has now reached that figure in three-straight games, with 11 against Oakland on 4-8 FG (1-2 3pt.), plus eight rebounds, two assists, two steals, and six turnovers; combo guard Danielle Rauch had 10 points on 4-9 from the field (1-2 3pt.), four rebounds, and four assists. Point guard Kahlaijah Dean led the Grizzlies with 15 points on 4-10 shooting (2-5 3pt., 5-6 FT), four rebounds, and two steals against three turnovers.

RV* Arkansas: 65-58 win over SMU. Shot only 39/20/41 (FG%/3P%/FT%), but only committed eight turnovers; had only nine assists. Center Erynn Barnum led with 18 pints on 8-16 shooting (1-3 3pt.) and nine rebounds (four offensive); point guard Makayla Daniels notched 16 points on 6-10 from the field (0-3 3pt.), seven rebounds, no turnovers, and four fouls; combo guard Amber Ramirez had 11 points on 4-of-12 from the field and 2-of-8 from three with no turnovers. Mustang big Savannah Wilkinson had a double-double on a game-high 20 points (10-17 FG, 0-2 3pt.) and 10 rebounds against three turnovers.

RV Colorado: 81-48 win over Samford. The Bulldogs actually led by three points a couple minutes into the second quarter. And then they did not. They can thank a -25 middle half for that, including a 23-6 Buffaloes third quarter. Colorado had 21 steals, part of Samford’s 27 turnovers. Buffalo wing Frida Formann had a game-high 13 points on 5-11 shooting (3-9 3pt.), three assists, and two steals; combo guard Tameiya Sadler had notched 12 bench points on 3-5 from three, three rebounds, and two steals; combo forward Mya Hollingshead scored 11 points on 5-11 from the field (0-3 3pt.), six rebounds (three offensive), two assists, and no turnovers; off-ball guard Kylee Blacksten had a career-high 10 points on 3-7 FG (2-3 3pt.), four rebounds, and two steals without a turnover.

RV Oklahoma: 88-69 win over Minnesota. Jumped out to a 7-0 lead, which the Golden Gophers closed with eight unanswered; the Sooners won that first quarter by 13. Combo guard Taylor Robertson once again led Oklahoma, this time with 19 points on 5-11 from three, six rebounds, four assists, and five turnovers; off-ball guard Ana Llanusa scored 17 points on 6-of-16 from the field and 3-of-10 from three and grabbed five rebounds; off-ball guard Skylar Vann had 15 bench points on 7-10 shooting, seven rebounds, two assists, and two steals; wing Madi Williams had a 12-point, 11-rebound double-double on 5-14 FG (1-2 3pt.) — she’s now shooting 40.0% from deep on 3.3 attempts per game after having compiled a 27.6% mark on 1.3 across her first three years. Minnesota was led by point guard Jasmine Powell’s 18 points on 5-12 shooting (2-2 3pt., 6-10 FT), six rebounds, four assists, and five turnovers; wing Deja Winters matched Powell’s 18 points, on 6-14 from the field (2-6 3pt.), plus five steals and two blocks.

Buffalo: 88-79 win over Syracuse. Point guard Dyaisha Fair had 34 points on 11-of-15 from the field and 7-of-11 from three (5-6 FT), four rebounds, five assists, and just one turnover without ever hitting the bench; big Summer Hemphill notched a career-high 28 points on 11-21 shooting (4-4 3pt.) and 10 rebounds for a double-double, plus three assists against three turnovers. Point guard Chrislyn Carr led the Orange with 23 points on 9-14 FG (5-6 3pt.), three assists, three steals, and three turnovers.

Wisconsin: 71-63 overtime loss to Chicago State. The Badgers entered as a 94.1% favorite, per ESPN’s model. The Cougars have gone 4-131 since 2016.

Blown Leads

Southeast Missouri State: 73-65 loss to Arkansas State. Had a 90.5% win expectancy with a six-point lead five minutes in, mostly on the back of being an 85.2% favorite by ESPN’s model. The Red Wolves stormed to a seven-point lead in the mid-third quarter, after which the Redhawks scored 10 unanswered. And then themselves allowed eight straight to Arkansas State. And that was about all she wrote.

*Receiving Votes